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LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 




LITTLE 
SIR GALAHAD 



‘By LILLIAN HOLMES 

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PUBLISHED BY 

DAVID C. COOK PUBLISHING COMPANY 

CHICAGO NEW YORK BOSTON 

FACTORY AND SHIPPING ROOMS, ELGIN, ILL. 


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Copyright, 1904, 

By David C. Cook Publishing Co., 

ELGIN, ILLINOIS. 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


By LILLIAN HOLMES. 

CHAPTEE L 

T T IS real name was David — a beautiful name, and 
one that he himself liked, because it had 
belonged to the Bible boy to whom such wonderful 
things happened. 

Bead about David,’’ he used to say to Aunt Jane, 
when it was time for their evening chapter; and he 
never grew tired of hearing about the ruddy, vigorous 
boy who had killed a lion and a bear, and even a giant! 

I want to be like that David,” he began to tell 
Aunt Jane almost as soon as he could talk plainly; and 
by being like him he meant being very strong. When 
he was only five years old, he came in one evening in 
great glee, crying out, I’m strong! I can carry more 
wood than a boy that’s seven!” 

He never heard of Galahad until after the sad thing 
happened which made him think he could no longer 
hope to be like David. lie would never have heard of 
liim at all, if it had not been for Arthur Bryan. It 


4 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD, 


seemed as if all the pleasantness came into his life 
through Artliur after that, just as all the siinsliine came 
to him through the little window that looked towards 
Arthur’s home on the hill across the river. The sun 
did not come around to it until aiternoon, for it was a 
west window; but David felt better in the mornings, 
and did not need so much to be enlivened then, so he 
was thankful the window was on that side of the house. 
It was towards the mill yard, too, so that the people 
went right under it as they passed back and forth to 
their work; and that was pleasant, for David had many 
friends among the hands,” as he called them. 

You strong boys who scarcely know which way your 
window faces, wonder why all this was of consequence. 
Well, at this time, David was a cripple, and could not 
move more than a few yards from his window without 
tiring himself very much. He had spent nearly all the 
days since he was five years old at that place, and 
now he was almost eight. 

At first folks said as they passed, “ Poor boy! It’s 
a pity the Lord did not take him to his mother!” But 
the Lord always leaves people as long as he has work 
for them, and he often has things for a lame boy to do. 
After awhile the people forgot to say this. David was 
so rich in sunny smiles, they could not call him poor. 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


5 


God had taken his mother home when he w^as just 
learning to walk, lie was a strong, sturdy little fellow^ 
then, with large, thoughtful blue eyes and jet black 
hair. His father worked on the railroad, and was home 
for only a night now and then, so when David no 
longer had his mother, he had to be taken to Alverton, 
the little factory town where his father’s sister lived 
and worked. There did not seem to be any place for 
him there, for Aunt Jane could not give him much 
care. She wmrked in the factory from half-past six in 
the morning to half-past five in the afternoon, and she 
did not know anything about children anyhow. 

But there w^as no other plaee for David. Nobody 
knew anything about his mother’s people except that 
she had displeased them wdien she married David’s 
father. 

Next door to Aunt Jane there was a woman who had 
four children, and she promised to look after David all 
she could, w^hile Aunt Jane w^as aw^ay every day. That 
was easier than you might think, for in Shop Row the 
houses were very close together; indeed it was all one 
big house, for it had once been an old store-house be- 
longing to the factories, and had afterw^ard been divided 
into tenements, the whole ten of which were no larger 
than Arthur’s home. Some of them had doors opening 


6 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


into each other, and Aunt Jane’s communicated with 
Mrs. Black’s in that way. Most of the time, David was 
in Mrs. Black’s house, or, if she wanted all the children 
out of the way, she sent the five into Aunt Jane’s. 

David was a very obedient boy almost always. He 
felt as if he did not belong anywhere, and he seemed 
to be trying to make as little trouble as possible. 
Although he enjoyed romping games, it was very 
seldom any one was hurt in them. As he grew older 
he liked to play stories best. He did not know any 
stories except those Aunt Jane told him in the even- 
ings, and she knew only Bible stories. Mrs. Black’s 
children never heard any except those he told them, 
so they played selling Joseph into Egypt, finding Moses 
in his little boat, making “ bricks without straw ” out 
of mud, or — what David liked best of all — killing 
Goliath with a stone. A big tree trunk, across the road 
from Shop Row, was Goliath. It had to be laboriously 
hauled to an upright position, and as it did not fall 
down when hit with the stone, somebody had to knock 
it over. 

Sometimes Alice Black wanted to be David, and her 
own brother very contemptuously told her, “ A girl 
can’t be! Girls don’t know how to throw straight!” 

But David would say kindly, Maybe they could in 


7 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 

those days. It was a long while ago when Goliath was 
killed.’’ 

So Alice would slay the giant in her turn. 

I do not know where David learned to be so kind 
to girls and women. I suppose he had never quenched 
that instinct of chivalry with which every boy must be 
endowed, in a greater or less degree. He saw the men 
around him let their wives carry heavy buckets of water 
from the spring, while they lounged at the doors of 
their houses. Some of them even let their wives and 
children earn a living for them; but David seemed to 
know he must not follow in their steps. He was always 
telling Aunt Jane he would soon be big enough to go 
to the factory and earn money for them both, so that 
she need not work any more. The day the sad thing 
happened he had been protesting because the boys 
wanted to make the girls drag the sleds up the hill 
before they would let them have a ride. 

I’ll pull your sled up twice, if you’ll let me come 
down once,” Alice Black had just said. 

I’m lots stronger than you,” he replied. I’ll pull 
you up on it, and then we’ll both come down together.” 

The other boys laughed at him for being so silly,” 
and he had turned around to shout something to them. 
I think he was going to say, You’re not strong enough 


8 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


to pull a girl up the hill!^^ I am afraid he was too vain 
of his strength. He did not say it, though; for Alice 
began to scream, as they started off down the hill, and 
before he quite knew what was the matter, she had 
rolled olf, and he and the sled were mixed up with the 
horses of a big sleigh which had been coming along 



I’m lots stronger than you,” DAVID REPLIED. 


the road at the foot of the hill, and which he had not 
seen or heard, because he was thinking about the boys. 
The man pulled up his horses immediately, but not 
before David had been kicked in the back, and — the 
sad thing had happened. 


CHAPTEE IL 

T T WAS nearly three years since that happening now, 
and all the time David had been thinking he would 
be well after awhile; but although he could sometimes 
walk across the room, he had never been able to go 
even as far as the tree-trunk Goliath, and most of the 
time he had to stay in the chair at the window. When 
David saw Alice and George Black start off to school, 
how he longed to be with them! Alice tried to teach 
him all she w^as learning, and soon he could read as 
well as she; but that was not very well, after all. He 
asked Aunt Jane all the hard words in the Bible chap- 
ters about David, and he could read them for himself 
after a time; but at last he almost gave up the hope of 
being like that David. No matter how often Aunt 
Jane reminded him that it was the Lord’s strength that 
helped David, our wounded little David replied, Yes, 
but he wasn’t lame.” 

But from this you must not think that he was 
gloomy. There were few brighter, happier boys any- 
where. He had the slate and reader that the teacher 


10 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


of the village school had sent him, and he drew strange 
animals, or read over and over the stories in the Reader. 

Then there were all his friends to make him happy. 
This was before he knew Arthur, but he had a great 
many friends even then, and he liked to think that 
over. Sometimes he counted them over to Aunt Jane. 

“ First, there’s Mr. Stanton,” he would say. ‘‘ I used 
to be afraid of him. But he’s very nice. He laughs 
to me every time he goes past, and you know he gave 
me a kite to fly out of the window. And there’s Sarah 
Watson, too. She’s the cook up at the superintendent’s 
house, you know. Nearly every time she passes on her 
way to the store, she comes in for a minute. And Mike 
makes three; he drives the wagon, you know. There 
•are about ten altogether.” 

How did you get acquainted with Mike?” Aunt 
Jane asked. 

One day he dropped some wood out of the wagon, 
and he didn’t know, so I called to him. After he put 
it in, he came and talked to me. Now he always says, 
‘ Good-mornin’ to you,’ or, ‘ How are ye the day?’ He 
has a little brother about as big as me.” 

That night after the chapter had been read, David 
said, I have another friend, too.” 

A new one?” Aunt Jane inquired. 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 11 

“ It’s God,” David replied earnestly. I was think- 
ing to-day that I wished I had a father or else a big 
brother, and then I remembered ‘ Our Father.’ ” 

Yes,” Aunt Jane replied, God is the best Father.” 
And I have a big brother, too,” David continued. 

Aunt Jane was silent, waiting for him to explain, as 
she knew he would. 

‘‘If God is my Father, Jesus is my Brother. I was 
talking to Mr. Stanton about it this evening. He 
stopped at the window, when he was going home from 
the mill. I said it would be nice to have a big brother 
like Mike.” 

“ Mike would have to go away from you all day,” 
Aunt Jane remarked. 

“Y^es, I know. I ’membered that afterward. Then 
Mr. Stanton said we all had an Elder Brother who could 
be with us all the time. Eight away I knew what he 
meant. I always know what Mr. Stanton means. When 
I was little and went to prayer-meetings with you, 
before — you know — ” and his voice trembled a little — 
“ I never could tell what any of ’em talked about, 
’cept Mr. Stanton. Once he told about the Good 
S’maritan and ’splained how we could be like him.” 
Then, more slowly: “ Aunt Jane, if Jesus is my Brother 
why don’t he make me well?” 


12 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


Do you think Mr. Stanton asked that, when he 
sprained his ankle?’’ replied Aunt Jane. He just 
tried to bear it bravely.” 

He told me ’bout it one day,” David replied. He 
said God wanted him to think, he s’posed. He had 
never kept quiet long before, and had not thought 
about Him enough. He said he learned a good many 
things then.” 

Maybe your Elder Brother wants you to think,” 
suggested Aunt Jane. 

I s’pect he does; I ought to have known it. I 
never knew he was my Friend, and I never knew I 
had so many friends until I had to be alone so much.” 

The next day David washed one side of his slate 
very carefully, and wrote at the top: Things I am — .” 
He wanted to put “ learning,” but he did not know 
how to spell it. He waited until Sarah Watson came 
along to ask her, but she wasn’t very sure. She thought 
it was lerning,” however; so he wrote it that way. 
Then very laboriously he put underneath it: 

“ God wants me to lern about him. 

“ He is my frend. 

“ Jesus is my bruther. 

“ He is the best kind of a bruther, bekaws he can stay with 
you always.” 

He was not sure of the spelling of other words than 


LITTLE SIR OALAHAD. 13 

''learning,” bnt he concluded it would not be worth 
while to ask Mike. He thought he would let Mr. 



HE THOUGHT A LONG WHILE ABOUT IT. 


Stanton correct the spelling some day when he had 
time to wait a few minutes. 

Several days passed before anything more went down; 
and then one afternoon Alice Black exclaimed, as she 


14 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


watched him write something she was dictating, 

You write a great deal better than I do, David! It’s 
because you have so much time to write. I wish I had 
time to write at hdme.” 

He thought a long while about it, when she had gone 
home. There were some pleasant things he had that 
strong boys and girls did not have. After awhile he 
added to his list: 

“ If God makes j’ou keep still, he gives yon things to 
make up.” 

There were days and days w^hen it rained that Alarch. 
Nothing happened. The people who usually smiled at 
him, seemed scarcely to have time to remember him, 
as they hurried past the window. The rain dripped 
through the cracks around the doors; Shop Kow looked 
very dreary. 

But after awhile the sun shone again, and then 
Arthur came. 

Arthur’s father was a doctor, and lived in the big 
house on the hill across the rivea* from Alverton. 
Arthur went to school in Ellston, the town on the 
other side of the hills, but sometimes he w^alked over to 
Alverton with his father. A big collie dog usually 
accompanied him, and David loved to watch for him. 
He had never seen so fine a dog before. 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


15 


This special day in March, after all the rain, Arthur 
and Sancho both felt particularly frisky, because they 
had been kept in the house so long. They ran races 
down the hill, across the bridge, and up the road that 
passes Shop Jiow. 



CHAPTER HI. 

\ TINT JANE’S gray cat was in the house, curled 
up against the door, asleep. There was a crack 
under the door — quite a big one — that let in rain and 
snow sometimes; and if she had not been a very foolish 
cat she would not have lain right against it, so that the 
end of her tail and some of her fur stuck out to entice 
Sancho to an attack. How could any dog resist such a 
temptation? He sniffed at Tabby, and when she drew 
herself away from the door, he threw his whole weight 
against it, and came bounding in. Tabby spit at him, 
and behaved most impolitely to her guest; but the guest 
was impolite, too, for he began to chase her around the 
room. Chairs fell down, the carpet was rolled up 
wherever it could be — it seemed as if a live whirlwind 
was in the house! 

David laughed and laughed. He was sorry for poor 
Tabby, too; but then, he was sure Sancho would not 
hurt her, because he had watched him chase cats before. 
He called to his pet, and when at last she sprang to 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 17 

his window, he seized her in his arms and ordered 
Sancho to be quiet. 

Another laugh joined his, and, looking up, he saw 
Arthur at the door. 

Sancho! Sancho!” Arthur called. Then to David, 

Oh, wasn’t it funny! Did he hurt anything?” 

“ No,” David answered, as soon as he could stop 
laughing. He only upset everything.” 

“ Let’s fix it all straight again,” Arthur said; but sud- 
denly pausing, he added, Are you the lame boy father 
told me about?” 

I am lame,” David said. “ You’re the boy up at 
the big house on the hill. I see you up there with your 
dog.” 

Yes. My name’s Arthur Bryan. What’s yours?” 

David Grandon.” 

Arthur busied himself picking up the chairs and 
smoothing the carpet, chatting all the while about 
Sancho and his other dog, which his father would not 
often let him bring out. 

He’s big, but he’s young,” he said. I believe 
you could ride on him, though, and then we could play 
tournament. I have to play alone nearly always, and 
that makes you have to make-believe too much.” 

“How do you play that?” asked David. 


18 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


I play Fm King Arthur. Sometimes I get on 
Sancho’s back, if he’ll let me. King Arthur had lots 
of knights, men who fought on horseback; and they 
called the fights tournaments.” 

‘‘Is he in the Bible? Aunt Jane never reads about 
him.” 

“ No; he is in another book I have. A^our king is 
in the Bible — King David! A^ou can play king, too.” 

“ I can’t be that now. He wasn’t lame; he was 
strong.” 

“ A"es, I know; but s’pose he had been lame. Make 
believe he was.” 

“ He would have to just keep still like I do.” 

At this point Dr. Bryan appeared in search of Arthur, 
and when he saw Sancho at the door of Aunt Jane’s 
house, he looked in and was glad to find Arthur talking 
to David. 

“ How are you to-day, my man?” he asked David. 

“ Pretty well, thank you,” David replied. 

The doctor asked him some questions about his back, 
and said, half to himself, “ It seems as if that ought to 
get well.” 

When he and Arthur departed, they promised that 
Arthur should come again, and Arthur said: 

“ I’ll bring the book that tells about the tournaments. 


LITTLE SIR QALAHAD. 


19 


There’s more in it than the fighting. Mamma says if 
I play King Arthur, I must be a Christian knight. 
That’s why I wear this little blue ribbon. She put it 
there to help me not to forget the King that was King 
Arthur’s King, too. You know about Him, don’t you?” 

And David said, Yes.” 

He had so much to think about that afternoon that 
it did not seem long until half-past five. He stroked 
Tabby gently and said, Oh, you nice old cat! If you 
hadn’t put your tail under the door, Sancho wouldn’t 
have upset everything, and Arthur wouldn’t have come 
in. I won’t call you silly any more.” 

He told Aunt Jane all about his visitor, and when 
he said Our Father ” that night, he added, Oh, 
Lord, please let Arthur come again soon. I thank you 
for sending him to-day.” 

Arthur at the same time was telling his mother about 
David, and they had a long talk which I am sure David 
would have liked to hear, and which he did hear from 
Arthur very soon. 

The room in which Arthur and his mother talked 
that evening was very different from the one in which 
we left David and Aunt Jane sitting, and yet perhaps 
there was no more happiness in one than in the other. 
One had heavy, wooden chairs, the other had softly 



20 LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 

cushioned sofas and divans; one had coarse muslin cur- 
tains, the other had draperies of rich lace; one had a 
Bible and David’s Header, the other had shelves and 
shelves of books. But God was in each of them, and 
where he is, nothing else matters. 

Mother,” said Arthur, after he had told her about 
his visit in the afternoon, I wish papa could cure 


HE TOLD AUNT JANE ABOUT HIS VISITOR. 


David. 

know.” 


He’s such a nice boy! He’s the nicest boy I 


21 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 

You seem to be very sure of him/^ 

“ Well, you know yourself, sometimes you get 
’quainted right away. He likes to play stories, and 'so 
do I. He has a king-name, too.’’ 

You can go to see him, and talk about it all.” 

But he can’t play it. He says he ought to be 
strong to play King David. He can’t play tournament, 
either. He wants to be strong so badly!” 

He is stronger than you are.” 

“ Why, mamma !” 

He can keep still patiently, and that is being 
strong.” 

‘‘How, mamma?” 

“ Is it harder to keep still, or to jump and run?” 

“ To keep still.” 

“ Well, if David does that without murmuring, he 
is stronger than you. You are always fretful when I 
want you to try to be quiet for awdiile. You will have 
to learn to control yourself, before you can be strong.” 

“ I see, mamma; I forgot that was being strong. But 
then, he can’t play knight.” 

“ Yes, he can.” 

“Oh, mamma, how?” and Arthur jumped up, eager 
to hear. 


CHAPTER IV. 

T A 0 YOU remember about Sir Galahad? He was 

one of King Arthur’s knights,’^ said Mrs. 

Bryan in answer to Arthur’s question. 

I can’t think of anything about him.” 

There is a poem about him in which he says: 

“ ‘ My strength is as the strength of ten, 

Because my heart is pure.’ 

He cared less for fighting than for being kind and good 
and true.” 

“ Please say the poetry again, mamma. I want to 
learn it for David.” 

Mrs. Bryan repeated it, and Arthur said it after her. 
Then she asked, Don’t you remember about the Holy 
Grail?” 

Oh, yes, mamma; it always went with him; didn’t 
it? And all the other knights once left their tourna- 
ments to go looking for it.” 

Yes, and it can go with you and with David. They 

thought they were looking for the cup out of which 

22 


LITTLE^ SIR GALAHAD. 


23 


Christ drank at the Last Supper. What it really meant, 
and what they wanted, was the presence of Christ, their 
King. You can have your King with you always.” 

I wish you would tell David about it.” 

“You can tell him, dear. Perhaps he may under- 
stand you better.” 

“ I'll tell him he can be Sir Galahad.” 

“ Yes, dear. If he keeps near enough to the King 
his heart will be kept pure, and that will give him the 
best strength.” 

Dr. Bryan’s arrival interrupted that part of the con- 
versation, but Arthur soon led it back to the subject of 
his new friend. 

“ Papa, can’t you cure David?” he asked wistfully. 

“ My dear boy, I cannot see why it is that he is 
not cured. I expected him to be well long before this. 
If he were a weak, cowardly boy, I should say he did 
not exert his will; but he seems to be -a strong-willed 
boy. It must be that he needs fresh air and better 
food. After all, it is a wonder children even live in 
a place like Shop Row.” 

Mrs. Bryan looked up from her work, and said with 
interest, “ Couldn’t we do anything to help him?” 

“Mamma, he could go driving with us!” Arthur ex- 


24 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


claimed. “ lie can walk a little; he could get to the 
carriage.” 

I was thinking of that,” replied Mrs. Bryan. 

The very next day Arthur hurried over to Shop Eow 
after school. He carried with him the book about King 
Arthur’s court, and as soon as he burst into the room, 
he exclaimed, “You can be a knight! Mamma says 
so! And we’re coming to take you driving to-morrow!” 

It all had to be explained, and Arthur did it very 
well, on the whole. He fumbled in his pocket for the 
paper on which he had carefully written the lines 
about Sir Galahad, and he read them to David very 
slowly. 

“ My strength is as the strength of ten. 

Because my heart is pure.” 

David eagerly took the paper from him, and asked, 
“ Who said that?” 

“It was Sir Galahad,” Arthur replied. “Mamma 
says he cared for being kind and good and true, more 
than he cared about fighting. She says you can fight 
battles inside of you — you know how.” 

“ Yes,” David said appreciatively. 

Arthur continued, “ She says you are stronger than 
I am, because you can keep patient, although you can’t 
run and jump like some boys.” 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


25 


Is that being strong?’^ 

She said it took more strength. Once when I wanted 
to fight with a boy at school, she found out about it, 
and she didn’t want me to. I said the boy would think 
I was a coward. Then she asked me if it would be 
harder to fight or not to fisrht. Of course, it was harder 
not to fight, so she said it was braver to do the hard 
thing.” 

‘‘ Did you fight him?” 

Ye-es; and we rolled down the hill into the brook. 
We both had to stay in all day ’cause we got wet. It 
was Saturday we did it. He took a cold and he was 
sick a long while. I felt mean all the time; he’s a 
month younger than I am; you know that made me 
feel meaner, too.” 

David sympathized about the inglorious battle, and 
Arthur said, “ Mamma gave me this ribbon after that, 
to make me remember to be a Christian knight. She 
said a Christian knight would try harder to fight his 
own temper than to fight other boys. I almost forgot 
— she sent you a ribbon, too. It’s in my other pocket.” 

The ribbon was produced and pinned on David’s coat, 
to his great satisfaction. When Arthur departed some 
time after, his last words were, “ We’ll call for you to- 


26 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


morrow when we go out driving, if it’s a clear day — 
I forgot mamma said that.” 

The next day was not clear, however. It was a 
tantalizing day. It rained awhile, and then stopped so 
suddenly that you were sure the sun would soon be 
shining. Then it rained again, but you hoped it would 
clear by afternoon. But the afternoon was rainier than 
the morning, and David had to give up the thought of 
going out. It would have been the first drive he had 
ever had, and the first time he had been away from 
Shop Kow since — the sad thing happened. Neither 
you nor I can think what a disappointment it was. 
The tears crowded into his eyes, but a knight must not 
cry, he remembered; so he brushed them all away and 
took up his slate to add one more item to his list. This 
time he copied the lines from Arthur’s paper, and wrote 
under them: 

“ It is strong to keep still when you w’ant to run, if you keep 
still pashently.” 

The night before, when he had told Aunt Jane about 
how he was going to try to be a knight, she had quoted. 

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; 
and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a 
city;” and she had found him the place in Proverbs 
where it was written; so he thought he would put that 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 27 

down, too. He couldn’t find it himself or remember 
the exact words, but he wrote: 

“ It is stronger not to get angry than to take a city if you 
are a king and can fight.” 

It is a good thing he had written that before Tom 
Black came toddling in. Tom was a very troublesome 
three-year-old urchin. He wanted to investigate every- 
thing, and his investigations usually led to something 
serious. This afternoon he wanted David’s slate, and 
nothing else wmuld suit him. David tried to amuse 
him, and put the slate aw'ay, thinking Tom would soon 
forget it; but although he seemed to at first, he really 
had not given up his desire for it, so at the first oppor- 
tunity he caught for it, and sent it flying to the floor, 
where it smashed in a dozen pieces. 

It was only a slate!” you say. You break yours 
often, perhaps. But then, David had no money to buy 
another, and Aunt Jane had no money for anything but 
food and clothes, the plainest of both. Then it was a 
very precious slate, because it had been David’s constant 
companion. Besides, it had the records of his life on 
one side of it. What poet or statesman would not 
resent seeing the first chapters of his memoirs destroyed 
before his eyes? Was it easier for David? I am afraid 
he was very angry. He did not often fly into a passion 


28 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD, 


— it took quite a big cause to make him — but if there 
was a reason big enough, he could be very angry; and 
now he had sufficient reason. He was going to push 
Tom away from his chair and say all the ugly things he 
could; but the bow of ribbon fell off as he was twisting 
around. It floated right down to the very piece of slate 
which held the words, stronger not to get angry,” and 
David saw them and paused. He always felt sure his 
Elder Brother was helping him then. Instead of push- 
ing Tom away, he said, Never mind, Tom. You 
didn’t mean to do it; don’t cry.” 

It was a real victory, and our little knight felt that 
it was, and that his King was glad about it. 



CHAPTER V. 

I T MAY seem strange, but it really happened that the 
very same afternoon Miss Miller, the village teacher, 
called as she passed. Something had made her remem- 
ber the little lame boy for whom Alice Black had once 
asked for a slate and book, and she thought she would 
see how he was progressing. She brought some half- 
filled copy-books with her, and some lead pencils, 
another Reader, too, and an old arithmetic. She prom- 
ised to come and help him herself sometimes. 

When she had gone away, David thought, “ Suppose 
I had been angry with Tom about that slate! Wouldn’t 
I have felt mean when I found out God was going to 
send me all these things!” 

He selected one of the copy-books for the “ Things 
I am Learning,” and he began to write them again, 
spelling correctly this time, because the words he wanted 
were in the new book. 

It was several days before he could have the drive, 
but he was so busy with the writing, he never had 

29 


30 LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 

time to wish for it. When at last the carriage called 
for him one afternoon, and Mrs. Bryan, Arthur 
and himself went rolling along by w^oods and fields, 
his delight knew no bounds. The first breath of air 
from the hill-tops seemed to give him strength. It was 
a real pleasure to watch him. His blue eyes sparkled, 
and his delicately molded cheek glowed, until Mrs. 
Bryan found herself wondering how the little village 
boy came by his inheritance of beauty and good man- 
ners. She knew afterwards that Aunt Jane was a lady, 
a princess of the kingdom of God, and that she had 
taught the little boy confided to her care to he Christ- 
like in little things. That made him a gentleman, even 
if he knew nothing of rules of etiquette. 

There are chestnut trees in there,’^ Arthur said, as 
they passed another grove. Uncle John and I came 
there last fall, and we got lots of nuts. 

That’s the pond where we skated last winter,” he 
continued, as they passed a large sheet of water. I 
believe there isn’t anything that’s as much fun as 
skating,” 

Mike used to skate at nights sometimes. Once he 
fell in, and it made his mother afraid, so he didn’t go 
any more,” David said, to show that he was interested 
in skating. 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


31 


There’s a brook on the hillside above that pond, 
and you can go wading there. We do it every summer,” 
Arthur explained, pointing out the place. 

Arthur told about all the good times he had enjoyed 
here and in the places where he went for his summer 
outings, and Mrs. Bryan could see there was not a trace 
of envy in the heart of the boy who had no such good 
times. He was pleased at Arthur’s pleasure, as if it 
were his own. She could not help thinking that his 
strength of joy was as the strength of ten,” because 
his heart was pure. 

She was ashamed that she almost had been afraid that 
it might not be good for her son to have a Shop Row 
boy for a special friend. She had no fears about it 
now. To-day she was pleasing them by calling one 
King Arthur and the other Sir Galahad, and when they 
neared the little village again, she said, Sir Galahad 
must ride through his parks again soon.” 

My parks?” asked David. 

‘^Yes, yours and mine, and everybody’s who wants 
them. They are God’s hills and fields, but he lends 
them to us. The way to have them is to enjoy them.” 

A year rolled by, and another and another. During 
that time David had many drives and spent many a 
day with Arthur. Little by little, he had grown 


32 LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 

stronger, how he scarcely knew, until he could walk as 
far as the village school. Dr. Bryan's idea was the 
right one; all he needed was more bracing air and better 
food. He received both through the doctor's kindness, 
and although he was never likely to be as strong as he 
once had wished, and still walked with a limp, yet 
he was no longer helpless. 

He still wore the little ribbon — not the same piece, 
for Mrs. Bryan had renewed both his and Arthur’s 
many times. He had new kinds of battles to fight at 
school. For instance, one day when he was very anx- 
ious to keep at the head of his class, he could not 
remember the name of the capital of Virginia, when 
the question came to him. Miss Miller was giving him 
a little time to reflect, feeling sure he must know it, 
when a boy behind him who was saying Richmond! 
Richmond!” softly to himself, suddenly whispered it 
distinctly enough for David to hear. David said it 
immediately, and kept his place; but all his pleasure 
had gone. He thought he would tell that he had been 
prompted. Then he reassured himself with the idea 
that he would have recalled the name himself in a 
minute; it must have been just coming to him when 
he heard it. But it had not come; he was cheatino^ — 
he who had despised other boys for that! 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD 


33 




34 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


He wanted very much to be number one that day, 
for it was Friday, and Miss Miller gave a card to any 
one who remained at the head all the week. This 
would have been his second week, and Aunt Jane would 
have been so proud! Proud if he cheated? No, indeed! 
The battle went on all day, and at the last hour the Sir 
Galahad part of him conquered. An honor that his 
King could not bless would not be much ornament to 
a knight. 

Just as Miss Miller was about to give him his card, 
he said: ‘‘Alice Black ought to be number one to-day; 
I heard somebody say ‘ Richmond ^ while you were wait- 
ing for me to remember.” 

It took only a minute to say it, but it made a. different 
person of him. Instead of feeling like a coward, he 
again had the strength of ten, because his heart was 
pure from dishonor. 



CHAPTER VI. 

HERE was in David’s school one little girl whose 
^ brothers always made her carry their books home. 
They would rim oft to the woods themselves, leaving 
her to trudge along with her burden the best way she 
could. The first time David noticed it, he hurried up 
to Ella and said, “ Let me have the books. I’ll walk 
home your way to-day.” 

She looked very grateful indeed, at first; but in a 
minute she exclaimed, Oh, no! It would tire you. 
You are not strong.” 

It always saddened David a little to be reminded of 
that, but he said brightly, “ Well, I’ll carry part of 
them. We’ll divide them evenly, so that neither of us 
will be tired.” 

Every day after that he walked home with Ella Knox. 
Her brothers laughed, of course, and began to make 
fun of him. He could not play many boy games, and 
he was often with the girls at recess; so this gave occa- 
sion for more joking, which came near making him 

35 


36 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


angry at first. He swallowed the anger all down, how- 
ever, and went along with a smiling face, until at 
last the boys themselves began to have a feeling that 
there was a strength not to be despised in his silent 
cheerfulness. 

He soon became a leader in his way. Disputes were 
settled by appealing to his authority, and his wisdom 
was renowned. 

The records headed ‘‘ Things I am Learning ” covered 
several pages now. These are some of the later para- 
graphs: 

“ God sends people to you just when you need them. 

“ Our King helps you to do what he wants you to do. Other 
kings only command. 

“ It does not matter what other people say, if you can hear 

the King saying inside of you that you did right.” 

* 

One day he found an unexpected comfort. It was 
in Sunday-school, in Mr. Stanton’s class; for there was 
a Sunday-school at Alverton, although there was no 
church and no minister. The lesson was about the 
man born blind, and when the boys had expressed great 
sympathy for him, Mr. Stanton said, I should be 
glad to have been that man.” 

Every boy looked astonished except David, who eag- 
erly awaited the explanation. 

Mr. Stanton continued. Christ used him. He 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. ^1 

needed somebody to be born blind, so that he could 
make him see, to teach the people that he was the 
Light of the world/’ 

The next day David wrote in his chronicles: 

“ Maybe Christ needed somebody to be lame here. I ought to 
be glad if he wants to use me.” 

But he could not help longing to be able to aid Aunt 
Jane. She did not seem well, and if he were only 
strong he might get a place in the factory now, for 
there were boys there no older than he. He thought 
about it and thought about it, and at last there came a 
time when it seemed as if his wish might be realized. 

Every summer a girl was hired to make sample cards 
of the goods manufactured in the Alverton Mills. It 
was very easy work, and Martha Flint had been doing it 
for the last three years, when she came to spend her 
vacation with her family. She stayed in the city with 
'her uncle the rest of the year, so that she could go to 
school there, and the little she earned in summer was 
a great help to her. Indeed, if it had not been for 
that, she would not have been able to go to school, for 
it bought her clothes for the whole year, and she man- 
aged to have very few other expenses. 

This year when David was so anxious about Aunt 
Jane, he heard that they needed a sample-card maker 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD 




LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 39 

earlier than usual, and there would be extra work all 
summer. He told Arthur about it, and one day the 
two hurried to the superintendent to apply for the 
position for David. 

\ ou are too young,’^ Mr. Colton said gruffly. 

‘‘ But I could do the work,” David assured him. I 
watched Martha do it last year.” 

A boy is never neat enough. We’ve had no success 
with boys.” 

“ But David is neat,” Arthur interposed. “ He learned 
to do girl-things when he was in the house so long. 
He can sew on buttons and mend his clothes.” 

Boys always mix up the samples.” 

1 would be very careful,’^ David said. 

He really looked like a neat, careful boy, Mr. Colton 
thought. At last he said, I’ll let you try. You can 
go at once to the room. The man there will tell you 
what to do.” 

So David was installed as a hand.” How he 
enjoyed his work! At the end of the first week he 
persuaded Aunt Jane to take a little vacation, assuring 
her that by living carefully they could make his wages 
suffice for awhile. 

The sam])le-cards were never made more neatly, and 
he even learned the names of the styles of flannel, so 


40 LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 

that he could label them himself. When Martha came, 
she was surprised to find a little boy at her work; but 
she cheerfully joined with him, and found him quite an 
interesting companion, w^hen they had time to talk. 

‘‘What makes you so careful about the back?” she 
asked one day. “ Mr. Colton never looks at the back of 
a card; he is in too big a hurry when he sends them 
away.” 

“ But I want it all to be good,” David replied. 

“ Why?” persisted Martha. 

“ Because — because,” David faltered, “ because God 
sees it all.” 

“ Oh! Do you suppose he cares?” 

“ Yes; there’s something in the Bible about doing 
everything as unto him.” 

After that "Martha often asked David questions 
merely to make him talk. She liked to ridicule people; 
she seemed to see all the queer ways of the country 
folks. 

“ Did you ever see anybody look so funny as Jim 
Healey?” she would ask. “ That hat must have 
belonged to his great-grandfather, and he always has it 
pressed down over his eyes.” 

“ But he can’t afford to buy a new one,” David would 
answer; “his wife is sick all the time, and he spends 


41 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 
all his money for her. I think his eyes are weak, and 
that makes him push his hat down. Once mine hurt, 
and I had to wear my hat that way/^ 

You never see anything funny. 

Yes, I do.^’ 

And she knew he did, for they often laughed heartily 
together. She was glad he did not make fun of every- 
thing, after all; for he would very likely have teased her 
about her red hair, as her brothers did. 

One day he came with a new piece of ribbon on his 
coat. 

Where’s the old one?” she asked. She knew about 
the meaning of it by this time. 

“ In my pocket,” said David. 

Will you give it to me?’ 

I’ll give you the new one, and wear the other 
myself. It wasn’t very dirty, but Arthur’s going to 
the city, so his mother gave him a new one, and we 
always change them together.” 

Can a girl be one of your knights?” 

I don’t know; I reckon she can. Why, yon would 
be a lady — the Lady Martha.” 

What do I have to do?” 

Whatever the King tells you. 

But I don’t belong to him.” 


You will know.” 


42 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


“ Everybody does. You only have to tell him you 
are willing to belong.” 

Well, I am.” 

Oh, Martha!” 

I have been ashamed of myself lately — ever since 
the time about the back of the cards.” 

‘‘ I am so glad you are going to be a Christian!” 

‘‘Why, that’s what it is, isn’t it? What will the 
girls at school think?” 




CHAPTER VII. 


rr^ HE weeks flew by and they were happy weeks; 

^ for David had found a friend. Martlia had been 
a friend before, hut he never had any real pleasure out 
of his friendships unless their bond was service of the 
King. And now Martha loved his King. 

One morning she came in with tears in her eyes, 
and when David asked what was the matter, she replied: 

Mr. Colton says he will not need me after to-day. 
There will only he work enough for one, and, as you 
will he a regular hand, you ought to have it.” 

A very brief struggle went on in David’s heart. He 
tliought of Aunt Jane and her much-needed rest, and 
he thought of Martha and her cherished hopes of going 
to the public school in the city awhile longer. Aunt 
Jane would not want him to take Martha’s place. Sir 
Galahad would not do it. The King’s Word said some- 
thing about in honor preferring one another.” 

You must not go,” he said quickly. I only came 
because you were not home yet.” 

43 


i4 LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 

Did you really mean only to do it for awhile?’’ 

Of course; I knew it was your place.” 

But Mr. Colton would rather have you, David.” 

Not when he knows I only came to work until you 
could do it yourself.” 

He immediately went to Mr. Colton and explained. 
The superintendent was greatly surprised, but was 
willing to keep Martha, if David desired it. 

Let me see,” he said thoughtfully, I wonder if 
you could do some copying for me. Write your name 
on that paper.’ 

David wrote boldly, David Kerry Grandon.” 

‘^Your hand is quite plain. I suppose you could 
copy these bills for me. The bookkeeper is taking his 
vacation, and they are piling up too rapidly.” 

The copying afforded several days’ work, and the last 
one that David spent in the office proved an important 
one, for that was when the glad thing happened. 

All that last day in the office, David felt very quiet 
and a little sad. Whenever he thought of Aunt Jane, 
he would breathe the prayer, Lord, help me to know 
what to do next.” He did not know that the next 
thing ” for him was very near him even then. 

He had reached the last page of bills in the big 
book, when Mr. Kerry, the minister from Elkton, 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 45 

entered the office. He was quite a young man, and had 
had the church in Elkton for only a few months, so 
David had never seen him before. His errand to Mr. 
Colton was to ask if he might preach in the hall at 
Alverton on Sunday night, once in two weeks. As soon 
as he had heard of the little factory town with no 
church, he had felt as if he ought to do something 
there; and his own church had consented to have a 
prayer-meeting every alternate Sunday night, so that 
he could be free to preach at Alverton. The owners 
of the place had to be consulted first through Mr. 
Colton, however. 

The superintendent was not in, David told him, hut 
he would return soon; so the Rev. Mr. Kerry sat down 
to wait. 

Kow that very piece of paper on which David had 
written his name several days before, lay on the desk, 
propped up against an ink-stand, so that when the 
minister’s eyes wandered over towards David, they 
could not help resting on it. Dozens of other pieces of 
paper had been thrown in the waste-basket during those 
few days. The only reason that escaped was because it 
had a mission in the world. It could not be destroyed 
yet. God was going to- use it. 

Mr. Kerry read David Kerry Grandon,” and started 


46 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


up involuntarily. The boy at the desk raised his large 
blue eyes, and it seemed as if they sent an electric shock 
through the preacher. 

Whose name is that?” he demanded. 

Mine,” answered David. 

And part of it is mine, and also my father’s. How 
came you to be called David Kerry?” 

“ ]\ly mother called me after her father.” 

“ Where is your mother?” — excitedly. 

She died long ago when I was very little.” 

What was her name?” 

Dose Kerry.” 

And your father’s?” 

dames Grandon.” 

Where did she die? In this town? In Shop Row 
all alone?” 

No, sir; we lived in the city then, I think. I don’t 
know much about it. Aunt Jane knows.” 

Who is she?” 

'' ^My father’s sister. He brought me to her. He’s 
dead, too.” 

I see it all,” murmured the preacher. It must 
have been while we were abroad that she died. And 
we thought she was hiding from us. ]\Iy hoy, you 


are 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 47 

my nephew. Your mother was my sister. When can 
I see your aunt?’^ 

David was speechless. He, related to this fine- 
looking young man! 

‘‘ You look just like your mother,” Mr. Kerry said. 

“ Aunt Jane says I do,” David managed to answer. 

Do you remember her?” 

‘^No, sir; I was too little, when she died.” 

When may I see your aunt?” 

She is in the weave-room now. She came back 
to her work to-day.” 

Mr. Kerry ran against Mr. Colton at the door, and 
stopped long enough to ask permission to see Jane 
Grandon. In a few minutes more in the noise of the 
looms he was listening to the story of David’s mother. 

She loved Jim,” Aunt Jane repeated every little 
while; and at last Mr. Kerry said, I know she did. We 
did not want her to marry him, but we never meant 
to lose sight of her. We went to Europe after she was 
married. There was an estate in Scotland to be settled, 
and some of it belonged to us. We were there two 
years, and never heard from her in that time. When 
we came home we could find no trace of her.” 

The boy has been such a comfort to me!” Aunt 


48 LITTLE SIR GALAHAD, 

Jane said in a choking voice. She felt sure they would 
want to take him from her now. 

Mr. Kerry left her without saying another word. He 
took David with him when he departed from the office, 
and he forgot all about his errand that time. 

You must come home with me,’^ he said to the 

boy. 

But Aunt Jane wdll want to talk to me when she 
comes.” 

Then Fll stay here until then.” 

It took them a very little while to become acquainted. 
David told him all about the years when he could not 
walk, about Arthur, about Sir Galahad, about the work 
at the factory. He even let him see the precious book 
of Things I am Learning.” 

You must tell me how you learned every one of 
them,” his Uncle David said. 

Oh, that would take a long while! It does not 
take long to wTite them down, but sometimes it took 
a long while to find them out.” . , 

I have taken longer than you to find them out.” 

I thought you knew them all. You are a preacher.” 

Yes, I am a preacher, and that reminds me I came 
here to ask if I could preach at Alverton. I must 
go back and ask Mr. Colton.” 


CHAPTER VIIL 


R. COLTON’S permission for the preaching 



would liave been readily obtained, but be had 


to consult his employers, so be could not give Mr. Kerry 
an answer for a few days. In factory towns like Alver- 
ton the man who owns the mills, houses, store, and 
every foot of ground, is king in a small way. Alverton 
was owned by a company, but they were all related, 
and the oldest member of the family had patriarchal 
authority. 

The minister returned in company with Aunt Jane 
this time. 

My father will want to see David,” he was saying. 

I must come back for him to-morrow, after I have 
broken the news to his grandfather.” 

And his grandmother?’ inquired Aunt Jane. 

She has been at rest many years. Miss Grandon. 
My father and I are alone. Our old servant is our 
housekeeper at the parsonage in Elkton.” 

Are you going to take David from me?” 


50 LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 

“ His grandfather will desire it, I am sure,’' answered 
the minister. And that was all. 

Two people did not sleep much the night after that 
eventful day — Aunt Jane, who felt that she w^as giving 
up her boy; and the old man in the parsonage at 
Elkton, who was grieving for his daughter, while he 
rejoiced at finding her son. 

‘‘ Bring him to me at once,” he had ordered; hut 
his son assured him that he had better wait until the 
next day to let David have time to get over his bewilder- 
ment. 

The next morning the old man insisted on having 
him immediately. 

He must not stay an hour longer in that place. 
How do I know what he is learning?” he said fiercely. 

But, father, he has spent all his life there. A few 
more hours cannot change him.” 

“Well, bring him — bring him, at once!” 

So ^Ir. Kerry appeared in Shop Bow at an early 
hour, and David was soon on his way to Elkton. 

“You had better take all you will want with you; 
your grandfather wdll not let you come back,” Mr. 
Kerry told David. 

Not come hack! David was startled. To leave Aunt 
Jane, because he had found an uncle! 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD 


51 



52 TATTLE SIR GALAHAD. 

But Aunt Jane will want me!” he stammered. 

“ You belong to your grandfather, first of all.” 

But' Aunt Jane took care of me always. I’ve been 
belonging more and more to her all the time. I want 
to work for her again.” 

The Rev. David Kerry was silenced. It was useless 
to argue with this clear-eyed boy. Perhaps his grand- 
father would have more success with him. 

When David was ushered into the elder Mr. Kerry’s 
presence he was a little afraid of the stern-looking 
old man who grasped him by the shoulders and ejacu- 
lated, Rose’s eyes! My poor, little Rose!” Afterward, 
when the pain of the first meeting was over, and the 
old man smiled, David saw the tenderness behind the 
sternness, so he was no longer afraid. 

There was so much he must tell that the hours 
passed very rapidly before the noonday meal, and 
more rapidly still after it. The old man took a nap 
in the afternoon, and David and his uncle strolled 
around the garden together. 

What shall I preach about when I preach at Alver- 
ton?” asked the latter. 

Oh, preach what hoys will like!” 

Boys do not like sermons, do they?” 

Yes, they do, if they can understand them. I mean 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD, 53 

I think they do. I have only heard a few sermons. We 
only have prayer-meetings at Alverton.” 

‘‘Did you ever come to church at Elkton?” 

“Yes, a few times with Arthur; but we never seem 
to belong there, you know.’’ 

“ Why?’ 

“We didn’t know any people.” 

“ But you will soon know the people now.” 

Then the young minister stopped suddenly in his 
walk, and exclaimed, “I have an idea! Let me have 
your book of the things you learned. I’ll take my 
subjects from it.” 

“Would it be any good?” 

“Yes, it would.” 

They walked a little while longer, until David 
remembered how late it was. “ Oh, I must go home!” 
he said. “ Aunt Jane will expect me to be there by the 
time she is out of the factory.” 

“ You had better see your grandfather. There he is 
on the porch now.” 

They went towards the porch together, and David 
said, “ I came to say good-by. I’ve had a lovely time.” 

“What do you mean?” asked the old man. “You 
are to stay with us now.” 

“ But Aunt J ane will want me.” 


54 LITTLE SIR GAL^AHAD. 

“ She knows you belong to me/’ 

“ Yes, and she would let me stay; but I know I ought 

to belong to her.” 

' ' ■_ • - 

I want to send you to the Academy here, and after- 
ward to the University.” 

Our Sir Galahad was sorely tempted then. But would 
it be knightly to leave Aunt Jane, wdien he had 
intended to take care of her in her old age? 

‘‘You shall stay!” said the old man determinedly; 
and his son wondered how the boy dared resist him. 

The boy was strong in spirit. Nearly all the twelve 
years of his life he had been striving for that strength. 
He never appeared to have to wait long to hear his 
King’s command, and the power seemed to come with 
the order. 

“ It would not be right for me to leave Aunt Jane,” 
he said gently, but very firmly. 

The old man could not stand the frank, truthful gaze 
of the blue eyes. His own eyes dropped, and at last 
he said submissively: 

“ Let him go this evening. We shall see about it 
later.” 

David hurried back to Shop Row and the little low 
room, as if he were afraid of what he had left behind him 
at Elkton. It had been a sore temptation. His grand- 


LITTLE SIR OALAHAD. 


55 


father knew nothing about it. He was half afraid the 
boy could not appreciate the advantages he offered him. 
He could not know how David longed for books and 
culture and all that would he denied him in the life at 
Alverton. I think David never knew he wanted them 
until they came so near him, hut now he saw very 
clearly what he was giving up. 

Aunt Jane asked very few questions that night. She 
did not intend to approach the subject of the separation 
until it was forced upon her. She thought perhaps Mr. 
Kerry was giving her a few days to get used to the 
thought. But the next day when she was summoned 
from the factory at ten o’clock in the morning, she 
was sure her hour of trial had come. 

A carriage stood before the poor, little house in 
Shop Row. In the room she found David’s grandfather 
and his uncle. 

Oh, Aunt Jane, my grandfather has come to see 
you!” David cried out, and she wondered how he could 
be so joyful. 

Mr. Kerry, the elder, studied Aunt Jane’s honest, 
good face for a few minutes. Then he said slowly, Your 
boy refuses to be separated from you. Miss Grandon. 
We have come to the conclusion that he needs you and 
we need you. Will you accept the position of house- 




‘L.'bT-C. 


56 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


keeper in our home? Our old cook is growing careless, 
but under your supervision I think the house might 
be easily managed. Will you come to us?’’ 



CHAPTER IX. 

\ TTXT JANE went to the parsonage when David 
went. During the first busy days there every- 
body forgot about the preaching at Alverton on Sunday 
nights; but one morning a letter came from Mr. Colton 
to say that the chief member of the firm objected to the 
new plan. 

David was sorely disappointed, and so were they all. 
Arthur, who had to come down the other side of the 
hill to see David now, was wrathful even. 

Stupid old czar!” he said. He must think the 
people are like his old machines. I am going to ask 
papa to go and see him.” 

It was Mrs. Bryan who thought of the best plan. 
She had heard that Mr. Kerry intended to preach from 
the subjects in David’s book, and that they had already 
been finding texts for the sermons. 

Let David go to see old Mr. Mayberry,” she said. 

‘‘ He can take his book with him and show Mr. May- 

57 


58 


LITTLE SIR- GALAHAD. 


berry what the sermons will he about. That may con- 
vince him there will be no harm in them.’^ 

One bright morning the minister and his nephew 
took the train for the city. They went to Mr. !M ay- 
berry’s mansion together, but it was only the boy who 
was ushered into the library to see the gentleman. 

I am David Grandon,” he explained. “ My uncle 
is the Rev. David Kerry, the man who wants to preach 
at Alverton. He sent me to tell you what he wants to 
preach about.” 

“ I don’t want any preaching there!” growled the old 
man. 

But David was not afraid. He felt sure the King 
wanted him to succeed. 

‘‘You know the people cannot hear any preaching 
unless they go all the way to Elkton, and it makes you 
too tired when you have worked all the week,” he said. 

“What do you know about it?” 

“ I have lived there until just now. I have worked 
some, too.” 

The old man was amused. The boy was interesting. 
“ What did you do?” he asked. 

“ I made sample cards.” 

“ It’s a wonder your uncle would let you associate 
with the heathen in that town.” 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 59 

I was a ^ heathen/ too. He didn’t know me then. 
As soon as he found me, he took me to Elkton.” 

Now you want to be a missionary, do you?” 

“ I want Uncle David to preach to the boys — the boys 
only as old as I am.” 

How old is that?” 

‘‘ Twelve, sir.” 

Well, what do you want him to preach?” 

I didn’t want to tell him what to preach; but you 
see I was lame for a long while — more than I am now. 
I couldn’t walk at all. I used to write down the things 
I learned, and when Uncle David saw the book, he said 
he could find subjects out of that.” 

Is that the book you have there? 

Yes, sir.” 

Let me see it.” 

That was more amusing than the boy, at first; but in 
a few minutes the old man ceased smiling. 

Where did you get all this?” he asked. 

I learned it.” 

'^Do many boys at Alverton learn these things?” 

I don’t know; they don’t have time to write them 
down.” 

So you think ! ought to let your uncle preach.” 

“AYs, sir.” 


60 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


You must leave me this list of subjects, and after 
I have considered them I will send you my answer. 
Will that be satisfactory?” 

Yes, sir. Thank you for letting me come up to 
see you. Good-by, sir;” and David was going out of 
the door of the room, when Mr. Mayberry called him 
back to say, Tell him he can preach. I’ll keep the 
book until I look over it. I’ll send it out to you.” 

David was radiant when he reached his uncle down 
in the big parlor. He says you can preach!” he cried 
out. ‘‘He says you can preach!” 

All the way home they talked and planned about it. 
The text of the first sermon was to be “ Learn of Me,” 
because David’s first sentence was, “ God wants me to 
learn about him.” 

“ How shall I tell them to learn about him?” Mr. 
Kerry asked. 

“ Tell them to look out for the things he does for 
them. He does help boys. Tell them the ways he 
helps them,” David replied. 

The sermon was a great success. The boys could 
understand it, and everybody who heard it or heard 
about it came to hear the next one. 

The book arrived the next week, and with it a check 
for twenty-five dollars to help along the preaching. It 


LITTLE SIR GALAHAD. 


61 


was expended in hymn-books and Bibles, which did 
help very much. The next time David was in the 
city he called to thank Mr. Mayberry for his gift, and 
after that hh often had to call about something. 

David attends the school at Elkton now, with Arthur. 
His lameness seems almost cured; it is only when he 
is very tired that you notice it. Probably by the time 
he is a man it will have gone altogether, and he will 
be as strong as Arthur. 

Aunt Jane enjoys the housekeeping very much after 
the years of harder toil in the factory. She keeps close 
watch of David, and whenever he seems inclined to be* 
exultant about his returning strength, she reminds him 
of the better strength which the years of lameness 
taught him. And 1 think our little Sir Galahad remem- 
bers. 









LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


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